With three months of work in the Sanderlin Mountain neighborhood coming to a close, road crews in Big Canoe are poised to shift their focus on our summer tradition: annual road paving.
Weather permitting, we begin Monday, July 31, on Shetland Trace and Pinto Place – two of the numerous streets in need of paving, which were identified by Don Watson, a research engineer with the National Center for Asphalt Technology.
Such an extensive endeavor takes a lot of planning – and a whole lot of materials – to cover the five miles of road in need of a fresh layer of asphalt. Crews will go through:
9 million pounds of asphalt
3,500 gallons of tack
87,500 ft of striping
875 reflectors
34,000 square yards of Reclamite
Unlike previous years, the upcoming paving project comes on the heels of the recent work on and around Sanderlin Mountain Drive. The POA coordinated with Utilities Inc. of Georgia and Amicalola EMC to work in tandem to minimize disruptions for Property Owners while reducing the overall time needed to complete maintenance if not outright replacement of both water and electrical systems. Crews will cap off the work that began in April with a new asphalt layer on the affected streets.
A reminder: roads targeted for paving are identified and prioritized according to criteria used by Watson, who annually drives all 92 miles of Big Canoe’s streets to designate those in greatest need of repairs. The roads scheduled to be repaved include:
Pinto Place
Shetland Trace
Section 500, from Clubhouse Drive to the end
Disharoon Drive
Eagle Ridge
Green Heron
Highland Trace
Sanderlin Mountain Drive
Valley View, from Wilderness Parkway to Toland Way
Wedgewood Drive
For two decades, Watson has surveyed Big Canoe’s roads, mile by mile, to assess their condition and rate their surface as “very poor,” “poor,” “average,” “good” or “very good.” Watson factors in numerous road-condition criteria including various types of cracking; raveling, or the progressive disintegration from the surface downward; potholes; and the conditions of the road’s edge.
A 32-year veteran of the Georgia Dept. of Transportation, Watson reported in 2006 that Big Canoe had 22 percent of its roads classified as “very good.” This year, 73 percent of the roads in Big Canoe have been designated as “good” or “very good.” Only 6 percent are now considered “poor” or “very poor.”
When the asphalt resurfacing has been completed, crews will shift to rejuvenating roads after Labor Day with Reclamite, an agent that penetrates the asphalt surface to revitalize and protect the roadway.
The following streets are scheduled to undergo the process:
Blazing Star Lane
Blazing Star Trail
Blue Stern Drive NW
Blue Stern Drive SE
Blue Stern Way
Cherokee Knoll
Cherokee Point
Cherokee Way
Osi Way
Pakanle Ridge
White Aster Lane
Wilderness Parkway
Wood Poppy Court
If you have any questions about the Public Works paving plan, please write to askthepoa@bigcanoepoa.org.